Until Dawn Review Roundup

Long-in-development survival horror game Until Dawn is finally primed for release this week. Before it lands on PlayStation 4, the first reviews from critics have gone live today.

Initially conceived as a PS3 game with PlayStation Move functionality, Until Dawn was re-revealed as a PS4 game in 2014. Although it's frequently compared with Quantic Dream games like Heavy Rain, it was actually developed by Supermassive Games.


Read on to see what the critics make of the game.
Game: Until Dawn
Developer: Supermassive Games
Platform: PlayStation 4
Release Date: August 25
Price: $60
GameSpot -- 8/10

"The choices you make in Until Dawn have more far-reaching consequences than in most other survival horror games: the butterfly effect feature it so heavily relies on is highly effective, adding weight to seemingly innocuous choices and creating a game that feeds deeply into player paranoia of making the wrong choice. Couple this system with the game's tongue-in-cheek exploitation of slasher film tropes--including over-the-top gore and flirty teenagers--and you have an enjoyable experience controlling your own '80s horror film parody. Until Dawn is a thoughtful experiment in how far you can go with multilayered player-driven narrative games, and despite some ugly visuals, delivers an engaging experience where story and controls meld for powerful meaning." - Alexa Ray Corriea [Full review]
GamesRadar -- 3.5/5

"[I]t's with a heavy heart that I say I wish this was cheaper, I wish this was episodic, and I wish I could send you all to go and play it immediately. As it stands, the experience is tremendously enjoyable but flawed, with less choice than we've been promised. There is plenty of horror here and it's schlockily, predictably brilliant but this is inherently an ultra-beautiful Telltale game. It's a terrifying ghost train at times but by the end you might just be able to see the cogs working behind the scenes and as such the toughest choice you'll face in Until Dawn is whether or not to pay full price for it." - Louise Blain [Full review]
Polygon -- 6.5/10

"Until Dawn exists within a strange duality. It's a game that's generic while being unlike anything else I've ever played. It's bad in some very evident ways, and yet I want everyone I know to try it. It's not a great game, probably not even a good one, but it does things I want every narrative-based game going forward to learn from. I'm still fascinated by it, still planning more playthroughs for myself, still wanting to recommend it to friends. Until Dawn's greatest mystery may be how it manages to remain compelling in spite of such huge flaws." - Philip Kollar [Full review]
IGN -- 7.5/10

"At its best, Until Dawn is a gleefully cheesy homage to horror movies, set in a world built by a developer that clearly adores the genre. Although its thrills are tempered by a lack of story cohesion, its robust choice-and-consequence system and keen eye on horror's most ridiculous tropes makes Until Dawn ultimately worth playing." - Lucy O'Brien [Full review]
USGamer -- 3.5/5

"Until Dawn is a horror movie where you control the plot. Think of it like a Telltale adventure with a much better presentation. If you're looking for a deeper, more interactive title, this isn't it, but it does its best to make your choices feel meaningful. And once you've played Until Dawn, comparing your story with your friends' is pretty satisfying." - Mike Williams [Full review]
The Jimquisition -- 9.5/10

"Until Dawn is everything that Quantic Dream games have tried to be--unsuccessfully--for the past decade. It emulates horror movies while demonstrating a clear understanding of what makes those movies work, its focus on consequence is nervewracking and intricate, and its story is silly but strongly delivered. It's the best David Cage game not made by David Cage, and it's the best interactive horror flick you'll play." - Jim Sterling [Full review]